1772,
1793, 1795 were the years of three territorial divisions
of Poland by Russia,
Prussia, and Austria, by which Poland's
size was progressively reduced until,
at the 3rd partition, the
state of Poland ceased to exist.
The First
Partition occurred after Russia became involved in a
war against the Ottoman
Turks (1768), that Austria became
alarmed and threatened to enter the war
against Russia.
Frederick II the Great of Prussia, in order to avoid an
escalation
of the Russo-Turkish War, calmed Austro-Russian
relations by shifting the
direction of Russia's expansion from
the Turkish provinces to Poland, which
not only had a weak
government but also, since 1768, had been devastated by
a
civil war and by Russian intervention and was incapable of
resisting
territorial seizures. On
Aug. 5, 1772, Russia, Prussia, and Austria signed a
treaty that partitioned
Poland. This treaty deprived Poland of
approximately half of its population
and almost one-third of it's
land area. | Polish
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